President Joe Biden said 2021 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McCauliffe was the "real governor" of Virginia.
McCauliffe, who previously served as governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018, lost his bid for re-election to Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin, who is currently serving as the state's governor.
Biden made his remark during a Tuesday campaign rally in Manassas, Virginia. The rally was Biden's first joint campaign event with Vice President Kamala Harris in their 2024 re-election effort.
“Hello, Virginia,” Biden began. “And the real governor, Terry McAuliffe.”
Gov. Youngkin responded to Biden's remark saying, "Mr. President, I'm right here" in an X post.
During the rally, Biden emphasized the threat against abortion rights, noting 2022's reversal of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).
Biden received criticism for his referral to McCauliffe as the "real governor" of Virginia by a series of notable commentators and administration members.
The View co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, who previously worked in the Trump administration, said the President's statement was "bizarre."
“When you’re running on ‘defending democracy’ jokes about elections being stolen are *not* funny at all," she wrote in an X post.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares similarly referenced Democratic criticism of former President Donald Trump's questioning the 2020 presidential election results.
“So Joe Biden is an election denier?” he wrote.
“This is monstrously stupid, even if intended as a silly joke,” said CNN contributor and Editor-in-Chief of The Dispatch Jonah Goldberg. “If you’re going to make the other side’s election denial central to your campaign, the last thing you want to do is this nonsense.”
During a Wednesday press conference, Fox News' Peter Doocy asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre if "election denying was a joke."
After Jean-Pierre appeared confused by Doocy's question, the Fox News reporter referenced Biden's Tuesday remark.
"He was making a joke," she responded. "If you play it back, it's clear that the president was making a joke."
Doocy questioned what Biden's joke was, which the press secretary said Biden was referring to McCauliffe's previous stint as governor.
"How are you guys gonna convince people though that this idea of denying election results is very bad if Biden is going out and making jokes about this," Doocy pushed back.
Jean-Pierre insisted Biden did not "deny" the Virginia gubernatorial election results.
"He congratulated Gov. Youngkin," she said. "Matter of fact, he did it out of the gate."
Youngkin's 2021 victory marked the first successful Republican run for governor in the state since 2009, defeating McCauliffe by more than 60,000 votes.
